Welcome to the Summer edition of WBT NEWS, WBT’s online newsletter.

In this edition, we would like to invite you to the WBT Systems Best Practice Forum 2004 which is taking place in Dublin on 12-13 October. This industry-leading event offers you a unique opportunity to learn about best practice in e-learning and human performance management and share practical knowledge with industry leaders and WBT customers and partners. We are particularly pleased that Gartner industry analyst, Jim Lundy, will be addressing the event.

The last few months have been very exciting for WBT Systems. In April, we received the ICT Company of the Year award for 2004 for market leadership and outstanding performance within the IT sector. In May, we announced the opening of new offices in Holland and San Francisco, and in July, we welcomed a number of senior appointments to our Sales, and Enterprise Solutions Delivery Teams.

On the sales side, we secured deals with leading companies including Barclays subsidiary, FIRSTPLUS, the leading corporate online program provider, Intuition and one of the UK’s biggest Business Process Outsourcers (BPO), Vertex.

We are also delighted to announce the launch of version 7.2 of TopClass which introduces advanced testing capabilities in the TopClass LCMS and Compliance Management Suites.

Finally, our Financial Services Group has just published a major e-learning research report based surveys from over 150 financial services companies in the UK, US and Central Europe.

We hope you enjoy this edition of WBT NEWS and, as always, we welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas regarding the content of WBT NEWS.

Susanne Ryan
Senior Marketing Consultant
susanne.ryan@wbtsystems.com

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The WBT Systems Best Practice Forum 2004

If you haven’t already registered your interest, now’s your chance to secure a place at the WBT Systems Best Practice Forum for 2004.

We are building on the momentum and success of last year’s event and creating a bigger and better conference. Some of the world’s most respected gurus and analysts on e-learning and human performance management will be present, including Gartner’s Jim Lundy and SRIC-BI Consulting’s Rob Edmonds. The Best Practice Forum consists of a packed two-day agenda of workshops, presentations and panel discussions and contributions from WBT customers and consultants. We will also be showcasing and demonstrating products at the Solutions Pavilion. It’s a fantastic opportunity to find out more about what's going on in e-learning and it offers WBT customers and partners the chance to share their experiences of using TopClass and working with WBT.

October is a very busy time for conferences in the US and Europe and flights are already sold out for certain dates. Rooms at the event hotel will also be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We strongly recommend that you register for the event and book flights and hotel rooms as soon as possible.

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ICT 'Company of the Year' Award for WBT Systems

WBT Systems was awarded the 'Company of the Year' Award at the prestigious annual ICT Excellence Awards. WBT was recognised for its market leadership and outstanding performance within the IT sector.

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WBT Systems Extends e-Learning Compliance Leadership with TopClass Version 7.2

Version 7.2 of TopClass has been launched. The new release introduces advanced testing capabilities to the TopClass Learning Content Management System (LCMS) and Compliance Management suites. Additionally, this version of TopClass improves rapid content publishing with enhanced features such as multi-lingual spell checking while also improving SCORM standards support.

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WBT Systems Publishes Major Study on e-Learning Best Practice in Financial Services

WBT Systems has published the foremost benchmarking report on e-learning in the financial services sector. The report is the culmination of a major research project that involved the top 150 Banks, Insurance companies and Financial Service providers across the UK, US and Central Europe.

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Barclays Subsidiary, FIRSTPLUS, Selects WBT Systems for Enterprise e-Learning Solution

WBT Systems is pleased to announce that it has been selected by FIRSTPLUS, one of the fastest growing consumer finance specialists in the UK, to provide and implement its e-learning solution. FIRSTPLUS will manage its training and track certification for regulatory purposes with the WBT solution.

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WBT Systems Announces New Locations as Part of Global Expansion

WBT Systems announces further expansion of its global growth programme with new operations in San Francisco, Holland and Canada, to serve US West Coast, North European and Canadian markets. This investment in new staff and locations is part of WBT’s strategy for structured growth with local direct sales and professional services resources to support its focus on regulated industries.

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Intuition and WBT Systems Announce Major Partnership Contract

In May, WBT concluded a partnership contract with Intuition, the leading provider of e-learning programmes and products to the corporate sector. Intuition will use WBT's solutions to power its new application service provider offering, enabling it to offer a more comprehensive end-to-end solution to customers.

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FS Survey Webinar

In response to the interest shown in the recent publication of the e-Learning in Financial Services benchmark report, WBT Systems will be hosting a web-based discussion forum based on the results of the survey, entitled "e-learning Best Practices for Financial Services" in the coming weeks. This event will take a closer look at how e-learning and knowledge management can address the numerous challenges facing financial services organisations.

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In this edition of WBT NEWS:

• The WBT Systems Best Practice Forum 2004
  
• ICT 'Company of the Year' Award for WBT Systems
  
• WBT Systems Extends e-Learning Compliance Leadership with TopClass Version 7.2
  
• WBT Systems Publishes Major Study on e-Learning Best Practice in Financial Services
  
• Barclays Subsidiary, FIRSTPLUS, Selects WBT Systems for Enterprise e-Learning Solution
  
• WBT Systems Announces New Locations as Part of Global Expansion
  
• FS Survey Webinar
  

Welcome

The WBT Team has been expanded with a number of new appointments.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Jim Whelan as Vice President & General Manager, North American Operations. Jim will manage our growing East Coast based team of sales, pre-sales and marketing resources and a number of regional contractors in Canada and California. Before coming to WBT, Jim held senior level positions in a number of software companies. Jim can be contacted at jim.whelan@wbtsystems.com.

Knut Rollig joins as the new Regional Sales Manager for WBT Systems in Germany. Knut has a wide range of experience in the software sector, including a strong history within the financial services industry. Prior to joining WBT, Knut worked with Consileon Business Consultancy in Germany selling and providing solutions to the financial services and automotive industries. Knut can be contacted at knut.rollig@wbtsystems.com.

Hans Willems & Helga Ultzen join WBT Systems as Regional Business Managers to work in the Channel Development team. They are based in the Netherlands and focus on establishing and supporting partnership relations in the Benelux, Scandinavia and Eastern-Europe.

Hans and Helga each have extensive experience in selling and delivering e-learning solutions. They have worked for companies like Triam, Pentascope and Atos Origin where they both held positions as Sales Director, Regional Manager and Account Manager. Hans can be contacted at hans.willems@wbtsystems.com and Helga at helga.ultzen@wbtsystems.com.

Ben Sugarman joins the sales team as an inside sales and marketing executive. Ben will be involved in pre-sales work and running marketing campaigns and proposal development. Ben can be contacted at ben.sugarman@wbtsystems.com.

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TopClass erhält in LCMS Studie Bestnote für Usability

In einer umfangreichen Studie, durchgeführt von der Universität Innsbruck im Auftrag des österreichischen Bundesministeriums für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur, platzieren die Teilnehmer eines Usability-Tests TopClass, die e-Learning Suite von WBT Systems auf Platz 1. Die Studie hatte zum Inhalt, Lern Content Management Systeme (LCMS) mit Blick auf einen potentiellen Einsatz im österreichischen Schulsystem, zu bewerten.

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Schauen Sie auf unsere neue Website!

Wir freuen uns, dass wir Ihnen heute unsere neue deutsche Website vorstellen können. Besuchen Sie uns, Sie finden dort umfangreiche Informationen über WBT Systems und TopClass!

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WBT Systems
Block 2, Harcourt Centre
Harcourt Street
Dublin 2, Ireland

Phone: +353 1 417 0100
Fax: +353 1 478 5544

WBT Systems, UK
Ireland House
150-151 New Bond Street
London W1S 2TX, UK

Phone: +44 207 243 8873
Fax: +44 207 243 3083

WBT Systems, Germany
Theresienstraße 6-8
D-80333 Muenchen
Germany

Phone: +49 89 288 90-499
Fax: +49 89 288 90-45

WBT Systems, USA
Reservoir Place
1601 Trapelo Road
Waltham, MA 02451, U.S.

Phone: (781) 684-8270
Fax: (781) 684-8033

Web: www.wbtsystems.com

If you have any comments or suggestions, please email wbtnews@wbtsystems.com.

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